Christchurch
It really started with a friend saying she thought houseplants were a bit naff after someone gave her one for her birthday.
Mary Lovell-Smith is house proud of her houseplants
Well, there are all sorts of things wrong with that attitude… ingratitude not least, but as a fan of houseplants I was mildly put out. So, on behalf of my maidenhair fern, my kentia palm and my… kind of cactithing (yes, I am slightly embarrassed to admit I have never bothered to identify it), I looked into their status.
And I was thrilled, yes gleeful even, to report back to my friend that houseplants are starring in all the 2017 interior design charts. Yes, they are back in vogue – and not before time. Chances are the pages of interior design magazines will feature one of these three houseplant trends.
The first is ferns. They are back with a popularity not seen since Victorian times.
Back then there was no finer feature in a parlour than a fern – and certainly no better sign of middle-class respectability than an aspidistra. Now seen on wallpaper, furniture, curtains, nothing is so cool as the real thing, where they lend a certain boho chic to interiors.
The most available fern here is a most pretty one with distinctive little triangular fronds. From the American tropics,
Adiantum raddianum aka maidenhair fern is easily grown as long as you keep it out of direct sunlight (which burns the fronds), give it shade and plenty of moisture – though you can ease up in winter.
Liking similar conditions to the maidenhair, but thriving in more warmth, is one much loved by the Victorians, the Boston or sword fern ( Nephrolepis
exaltata) which comes from the humid forests and swamps of the central Americas, Africa and Polynesia.
Like the maidenhair, it can be found in just about every garden centre or hardware chain. For a wider selection of houseplants, visit a florist.
Two ferns with an abiding international popularity as houseplants are New Zealand natives. Possibly they were treasures first brought back to Europe by the great 19th century plant hunters. The button fern ( Pellaea rotundifolia) likes shade or semi-shade, tolerates cool temperatures and does not demand as much humidity as many other ferns; and fellow native Asplenium bulbiferum aka hen and chickens fern or mouku or manamana, which has similar cultural preferences. As a bonus, the new fronds of this fern are edible, their flavour being likened to asparagus.
Hanging, climbing, trailing, draping, tumbling houseplants are the next big trend.
Especially when they do their thing from shelves. Most talked about, however, is pothos ( Epipremnum aureum), whose common name of devil’s ivy owes more to its hardiness and vigour than to its appearance. Its heart-shaped leaves are fetchingly flecked with gold. It tolerates any amount of light from bright to shade (but not direct sunlight) and seems immune to absent-minded owners forgetting to water it. The succulent string of beads ( Senecio
rowleyanus) is also making waves in hip houses. This very pretty plant has elegant strands draping sweetly every which way. A warning though – it is mildly toxic, so not good around toddlers, and its sap can cause itching. On the plus side, it only needs watering about once a month, tolerates some direct sunlight when many houseplants don’t. Plant in sandy soil.
Among other top climbers, creepers and trailers is Ceropegia linearis subsp
woodii, whose popular names include string of hearts, rosary vine, sweetheart vine and hearts on a string. They give an indication of its delicate and unusual charm. Easy to grow, it needs strong light and some direct sunlight.
Try also some of the ivys – way more desirable inside than out, especially the variegated varieties.
Trees are always a winner outside. Now they are coming in.
Replacing the weeping fig ( Ficus benjamina) in the got-to-have category are olives ( Olea europaea). Its silver and sage leaves are a perfect foil to the rustic terracotta and Mediterranean look tipped as a hot interior trend. Just make sure you get a small or dwarf variety, bonsai it, or keep your secateurs handy. Sit it where it gets at least six hours of sun a day, but don’t hold your breath for fruit – there usually isn’t any on indoor olive trees.
Making enchantingly crazy houseplants are fruiting fig trees, where the branches stretch out way more indoors than they do outside. Give these trees as much sun as possible, that is lots, and protect from draughts.
Always trendy as inside plants are citrus trees. Try ‘Meyer’ lemons and ‘Kaffir’ limes, especially if you live in colder districts where they struggle to grow in the garden.